Sandusky-area workers earn about $7 less an hour than the national average, federal data shows
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says food service is 15.2% of local jobs, far above the U.S. share, and bartenders are nearly three times as common as nationally.
Workers in the Sandusky area earned a mean of $26.33 an hour in May 2025, compared with $33.54 nationally, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released July 21.
The gap is about $7.21 an hour. The report covers the Sandusky metropolitan area, which is Erie and Ottawa counties.
A tourism economy in the numbers
Food preparation and serving is the area’s largest job group by far: 7,620 jobs, or 15.2% of local employment, compared with 8.8% nationally. The other big groups:
- Office and administrative support: 9.8%
- Sales and related jobs: 9.5%
- Production: 9.5%
The report also measures how concentrated a job is compared with the country. Bartenders work in the Sandusky area at 2.92 times the national rate, and restaurant cooks at 1.99 times.
What pays
Among the higher-paying groups, management averages $51.16 an hour, legal work $49.82, and architecture and engineering $45.62. At the low end are personal care and service ($16.38), food preparation and serving ($16.56), and building and grounds maintenance ($17.59).
The figures are hourly averages for the whole metro area and don’t include tips. See the full BLS release.
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